WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nation reeled from the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades, President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed diversity initiatives for undermining air safety and questioned the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a commercial airliner.

Sixty-seven people are believed to have died in the Wednesday evening crash, which occurred while a flight from Wichita, Kansas, was landing at Washington Reagan National Airport. As Trump spoke, the federal investigation was just beginning and first responders were still working to recover bodies from the Potomac River.

Officials have not yet to formally establish the causes of the collision, and Trump himself acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the country to pray for the victims. But he quickly moved to engage in speculation and political attacks, at a moment when Americans traditionally look to the presidency for comfort, assurance and facts.

“Some really bad things happened and some things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” the Republican president said from the White House briefing room, just over three miles or five kilometers from the scene of the disaster.

Trump blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for encouraging the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.” He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”

Trump did not share any evidence that unqualified people were being put in critical positions like air traffic control, and he acknowledged that there was as yet no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes.

Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Trump said, “because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be brilliant to ensure safety.

“They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”

Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s transportation secretary and was a contender to challenge Trump for the White House in 2020, calling him “a disaster.”

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said, adding profanity to his description of Buttigieg.

Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.”

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” he added.

The plane crash was the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020.

After telling the families of the dead that “our hearts are shattered alongside yours” and leading a moment of silence, Trump proceeded to speculate about what had occurred. “We do not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions,” he said.

Trump wondered if the helicopter pilot was wearing nightvision goggles, declared that “you had a pilot problem” and that the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” He questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly.”

He also mused about the air traffic controllers, saying of the two aircraft, “for whatever reason they were at the same elevation,” adding “they should have been at a different height.”

Democrats criticized Trump’s remarks on Thursday.

“It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories, it’s another for the president of the United States,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Vice President JD Vance, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all lined up behind Trump to praise his leadership and echo his concerns about diversity programs and hiring.

“When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means on the one hand, you’re not getting the best people in government,” Vance said, “But on the other hand, it puts stresses on the people who are already there.”

Trump made a point to tell Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday as Buttigieg’s replacement, “It’s not your fault.” Duffy took the White House podium alongside Trump and declared, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.” Duffy added, “We will not accept excuses.”

Trump signed an executive order ending diversity initiatives at the FAA soon after taking office last week. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. They have cited issues with competitive pay, long hours, intensive training and mandatory retirements for contributing to the staffing shortages.

“While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told lawmakers in 2023. Aviation experts issued a report around the same time saying that the FAA needs better staffing, equipment and technology.

Zeke Miller And Chris Megerian, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned the actions of the army helicopter pilot and air traffic controller ahead of a deadly midair collision in Washington and quickly veered into politics to speculate that Democrats and diversity initiatives shared blame for the deaths of 67 people.

As Trump spoke, a federal investigation into the crash was just getting started and first responders were still working to recover bodies from the wreckage of the commercial jet and army helicopter that crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport Wednesday night.

Speaking from the White House — just over three miles from the scene — Trump at points acknowledged that it was too soon to draw conclusions as he encouraged the nation to pray for the victims. But he moved nonetheless to assign blame.

Trump said “we are one family” as he expressed condolences for the crash. He then proceeded to attack political opponents and unleash grievances about diversity initiatives.

“The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency’s website,” Trump said. He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”

Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be geniuses. “They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”

Trump said he had no evidence to support his claims that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and hiring preferences played a role in the crash, allowing that “it just could have been.” He defended doing so “because I have common sense.”

The plane crash marked the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020.

Trump said “we do not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions.” Then he proceeded to hold forth at length about what happened, at one point wondering if the helicopter pilot was wearing night vision goggles.

Trump declared that “you had a pilot problem” and the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” And he questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly.” He also mused about the air traffic controller, saying of the two aircraft, “for whatever reason they were at the same elevation,” adding “they should have been at a different height.”

Vice President JD Vance, new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all lined up behind Trump to praise his leadership and echo his concerns about DEI programs and hiring.

“When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means on the one hand, you’re not getting the best people in government,” Vance said, “But on the other hand, it puts stresses on the people who are already there.”

Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary under former President Joe Biden, calling him “a disaster.”

“He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said.

Complaining about the previous administration, Trump continued, “their policy was horrible and their politics was even worse.”

Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.” He added: “As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying.”

Trump made a point to tell Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday as Buttigieg’s replacement, “It’s not your fault.” Duffy took the White House podium alongside Trump and declared, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.” Duffy added, “We will not accept excuses.”

Despite the crash, Trump said he “would not hesitate to fly.”

Zeke Miller And Chris Megerian, The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials charged with leading recovery efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene — as well as parts of eastern North Carolina still struggling from previous hurricanes — told state lawmakers this week that they need more money. And they need it soon.

Western North Carolina will need billions more dollars from the federal and state government to accomplish its recovery goals, according to officials in Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s administration at a Wednesday legislative meeting. The region saw historic flooding from Helene last year, which resulted in almost $60 billion in damages.

A day later, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency called on the legislature to provide $217 million as a final request to finish construction on more than 1,100 eastern North Carolina homes devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. NCORR has been plagued with financial problems — namely a reported budget shortfall last year — which has fueled criticism from lawmakers.

For Helene’s recovery, the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina advisor Jonathan Krebs outlined a funding gap of about $10 billion between money North Carolina requested from the federal government and what the state has received. Stein’s administration is requesting that additional money for western North Carolina be included in any future funding bill to address the southern California wildfires.

To address some lawmakers’ critiques of how recovery process have been handled so far, Krebs urged the legislature to appropriate more state funds toward the rebuilding efforts. Krebs said the recovery office is largely reliant on receiving reimbursements from the federal government, but having more state funds at their disposal would allow the office to work outside of that system. He said the office also anticipates further delays from the federal government in funding.

“We don’t want to bog this down with thick layers of bureaucracy, we want to be able to move nimbly,” office director Matt Calabria said.

The office described four critical needs in western North Carolina: debris removal, housing recovery, economic revitalization for impacted towns and repairs for roads and bridges. GROW NC’s goal is to largely complete housing projects within four years, Krebs said, but further repairs on roads and bridges could take about a decade.

Lawmakers frequently drew a contrast between the ongoing recovery plan for western North Carolina with NCORR’s work in the east for nearly a decade. GOP legislators have vowed that western North Carolina’s recovery will be run more effectively than in eastern North Carolina, which Republicans have repeatedly described as slow and inefficient.

“We still have families across the state waiting for a home. This is unacceptable,” Columbus County Rep. Brenden Jones said during Thursday’s hearing.

NCORR leaders — such as former chief operating officer Laura Hogshead, who exited from her position in November — have previously attributed the office’s financial issues to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising infrastructure costs. But during Thursday’s hearing, NCORR leader Pryor Gibson acknowledged “the mistakes” in the office’s past management of housing recovery.

Gibson detailed NCORR’s ongoing struggles with retaining a reliable base of contractors due to a lack of funds. Gibson called the situation a “double jeopardy” that could only be solved by “dependable money” rather than piecemeal funding from the legislature.

“If we don’t have projects in the pipe, our contractors will leave. They’ve said it out loud,” Gibson said. “And if they leave, honestly, with eastern recovery, we will not have the ability to put it back together.”

A little more than half of the 1,179 remaining homes are under construction, while the other half are awaiting construction, according to the recovery office. Gibson estimated the remaining homes’ construction could be completed by the end of 2025 if the office received adequate funding.

Makiya Seminera, The Associated Press